Title

Alka Seltzer Tablet

Broad Question

How does the temperature of water affect the time an Alka seltzer tablet dissolves?

Specific Question

Does the temperature of water affect the time it takes Alka seltzer tablets to dissolve?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the temperature of water will affect the time an Alka Seltzer tablet will dissolve.The warm water will melt the tablet and the cold water, won’t freeze the tablet but make it cold enough to dissolve slowly.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Water temperature

Dependent Variable:

Time to dissolve (seconds)

Variable Items to be Controlled

-Same size beakers
-Same amount of water in each beaker
-Same Alka Seltzer tablet

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General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Experimental Design
(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Stopwatch	1	JBES	$0
Alka Seltzer tablets	15	Walmart	$4.99
Thermometer	1	JBES	$0
Beakers	3	JBES	$0
Stirring tools	2	JBES	$0

Detailed Procedure

1. Gather together all materials
Stopwatch
Alka Seltzer tablets
Hot plate
2. Start with coldest water (5), and drop first tablet in
Start the stopwatch when first tablet is dropped in
3. Stop the clock after the tablet is dissolved
Record the time
4. Repeat steps 3 and 4, four more times
5. Start 20 degree water
Start the stopwatch when first tablet is dropped in
6. Stop the clock after the tablet is dissolved
Record the time
7. Repeat steps 6 and 7 four more times
8. Start 35 degree water
Start the stopwatch when first tablet is dropped in
9. If there is enough tablets try a 50 degree water
Start the stopwatch when first tablet is dropped in
10. I did a mini experiment just to see what it will look like
11. I got time it takes for each degree of water to dissolve. (estimated)

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Data Table

Data

Average

Data Table

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Photos

Stirring Alka Seltzer

Finding temperature

Watching tablet dissolve

Measuring the beakers

Results

The experiment was designed to test the effect of different water temperatures on the time it took the Alka Seltzer tablets to dissolve. The average for the 5 degree water is 119. The average for the 20 degree water is 38. The average for the 35 degree water is 26. The results showed that the warmer the water temperature the shorter the dissolving time.

Conclusion

The experiment was designed to test the effect of different water temperatures on the time it took the Alka Seltzer tablets to dissolve. The average for the 5 degree water is 119. The average for the 20 degree water is 38. The average for the 35 degree water is 26. The results showed that the warmer the water temperature the shorter the dissolving time.

Discussion

Does the temperature of water affect the time an Alka Seltzer tablet will dissolve? This experiment was set up to see how water temperature affects the dissolving time of an Alka-Seltzer tablet. The results of the experiment did answer the question. Overall, the warmer the temperature of the water, the faster the Alka-Seltzer dissolved, and the colder the water the longer it took the tablet to dissolve.

The results of the experiment backed up the hypothesis. The average time it took the tablet to dissolve in the 5 degree water was 119 seconds. The average time it took the tablet to dissolve in the 20 degree water was 38. The average time it took the tablet to dissolve in the 35 degree had an average of 26 seconds.

There was no pattern noticed in this experiment but there was a strong side and a weak side. The strong side was the warmest water and the weak side was the cold water. The results happened because of the warm water and cold water. The tablet in the warm water dissolved faster because the temperature of the water melted the tablet. The cold water was slower because the water didn't freeze the tablet, but the water was cold enough to take a while for the tablet to dissolve.

There were no specific challenges. The only technology that was needed was a timer. A question that could be asked in the future might be why warmer water is more effective for dissolving tablets.

Knowledge gained from this experiment could be used by the company in their directions on the packaging suggesting that the tablets be placed in warm water or hot water for quicker dissolving.

Research

In hot water the molecules move around more quickly. This means that when they bombard the alka seltzer tablet, they do so more quickly and with more force. This has the effect of dissolving the tablet more quickly.

What temperature of water should I use to dissolve Alka-Seltzer tablets?

The best temperature is room temperature. Cold water will slow down dissolution and warm water can make it foam excessively.

The warm water reacts faster because the tablet contains baking soda which reacts to water.

References

http://www.alkaseltzerplus.com/asp/student_experiments_1.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_alka_seltzer_tablets_dissolves_faster_in_hot_water http://alkaseltzer.com/as/faqs.html#q9

Abstract

The purpose of the experiment is to figure out whether warm water or cold water is faster when dissolving an Alka Seltzer tablet and it is hypothesized that the temperature of water will affect the time an Alka seltzer tablet will dissolve. The experiment was done by dropping an Alka Seltzer tablet into different temperatures of water. Then each temperature of water was timed when the tablet was dissolving. The results showed that the warmer water had a faster dissolving time. So the answer was yes, the temperature of water does affect the time an Alka seltzer tablet will dissolve.